A Legendary Canyon

The story of Rowena the Fair and a jealous betrothed

Karen Lungu

Posted:
10/10/2011 08:22:24 AM MDT

Sixty passengers enjoyed the maiden voyage, with the train scuttling along at a breakneck three miles an hour. At the outskirts of Anaconda, the train went off the track and over an embankment. Twenty-one people were injured and one was killed. A flood in 1912 brought train operations and an era to a close.
(Photos Courtesy/Royal Gorge Museum and History Center)

Daily Record story states, The need for a railway by the Cripple Creek District was so great in 1894, that heavy flood-proof construction was sacrificed for speed and expediency in building the road.

W ho is the phantom of Phantom Canyon? Is it the clatter, rattle and creak of rickety wagon wheels on the mud-packed roads or the jangle and clanks of shovels and axes as shadows of long ago work parties of local residents and Chinese laborers clear trees and put down tracks for the Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad.

Maybe it is the whisper of Indians tracking a deer path, or the staccato rhythm of hoof beats through the shadowy canyon. Perhaps, it is the anguished cries of the half-dozen Chinese workers who were buried in the debris of red boulders after a delayed charge of dynamite during the late spring of 1894; or is it the wails of an Indian maiden who lost her lover shortly after the two secretly eloped into Phantom Canyon?

A June 29, 1987, edition of the Cañon City Daily Record tells the story of another phantom in the story of Rowena the Fair and a jealous betrothed. The legend begins, as all good yarns do, "Once upon a time, 20 prairie schooners arrived at the opening to a canyon."

A harsh storm with unforgiving snow stranded the pioneers in the canyon. The group cut trees for simple cabins to wait out further winter tempests. Unbeknownst to the interlopers, local Indians watched their every move from behind boulders and ghostly trees lining the canyon. During a nervous foray into the crude settlement, the Indians discovered a friendly and welcoming troop of pioneers. Greetings and gifts were exchanged in an uneasy truce. Indian Chief Kaswind took note of Rowena, also known as Rowena the Fair.

It is said, Kaswind could not take his eyes off Rowena.

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Dark Flower was betrothed to Kaswind and found herself resentful of the attention bestowed upon the young white woman. Dark Flower could not help but notice the look on Kaswind's face as he gazed upon Rowena. One day, Dark Flower saw Kaswind carrying water for Rowena. She watched as he tenderly lifted the pitcher from her shoulders, and Dark Flower vowed the young woman would die. Dark Flower hid beside the spring the next time Rowena made the trip for water.

As she drew near, Dark Flower plunged Kaswind's great knife into Rowena's back. Settlers rushed to Rowena's side when they heard her tormented scream. Joel Marsh, the settlement's leader pulled Kaswind's knife from Rowena's body and headed to the Indian camp. Kaswind, returning from a hunting party, saw Marsh and raised his hand in greeting. Marsh pumped one bullet into the great Indian, who toppled from his horse, West Wind, and died in the dirt. Dark Flower went before the elders of the Indian camp and cried out for vengeance. The Indians shrilled with war cries, leaping upon their horse. They charged into the canyon and killed every settler.

According to the legend, the Great Bear called out for Dark Flower.

10DRBIT3.jpg â Sixty passengers enjoyed the maiden voyage, with the train scuttling along at a breakneck three miles an hour. At the outskirts of Anaconda, the train went off the track and over an embankment. Twenty-one people were injured and one was killed. A flood in 1912 brought train operations and an era to a close.â

She made her way into the canyon, where the Great Bear cursed her for her treachery. She fled deeper into the canyon and never was heard from again. Even now -- when one is quiet -- one can hear Dark Flower as she weeps bitterly for her Kaswind and calls out to Rowena. As the story goes, the phantom of Phantom Canyon is Dark Flower.

Another tragedy to befall the canyon came when the F & CC Line was established in 1894, when David H. Moffat decided the Cripple Creek and Victor district needed a railroad. Plush railcars hauled passengers to and from Cripple Creek, where mining output in the district jumped from $200,000 in 1891 to more than $2 million in 1893.

Construction of the line began Jan. 1, 1894, and the first passenger train departed Cripple Creek July 2, 1894. A 1962 Daily Record story states, "The need for a railway by the Cripple Creek District was so great in 1894, that heavy flood-proof construction was sacrificed for speed and expediency in building the road."

Sixty passengers enjoyed the maiden voyage, with the train scuttling along at a breakneck three miles an hour. At the outskirts of Anaconda, the train went off the track and over an embankment. Twenty-one people were injured and one was killed. A flood in 1912 brought train operations and an era to a close. The canyon opened to automobile traffic in 1918. The picturesque drive still is a favorite among locals and visitors alike.